Tributes have been paid to a popular and well-loved club steward who was affectionately known as ‘Papa Focka’.

Anthony Bradley, of Park View, Church, was receiving chemotherapy for a recurrence of lung cancer when he developed a chest infection.

He was taken to hospital but his condition deteriorated and he died on Wednesday, December 4, aged 70.

The former president of the Club Stewards Union worked at Dyers and Finishers Working Men’s Club in Accrington for 11 years and was part of the Sydney Street Working Men’s club bowling team.

His wife of 29 years Irene said his death came as a ‘big shock’.

She said: “He was just in hospital and we got a call in the morning saying he had deteriorated. It was a shock for us all as he had been in and out of hospital before and we expected him back home but he’s just gone. A lot of people will miss him.”

Irene said he used to love holidays in Benidorm – and that was where he got his nickname.

She said: “There was this bar there called Focka 2. We used to rent an apartment from a Spanish lady and that got called Focka Towers so he got the name Papa Focka.

Mr Bradley, who enjoyed socialising at the Greyhound pub in Accrington, was also a quizmaster and bingo caller at Park View sheltered housing where he lived.

Irene added: “He would do anything for anybody and did a lot of charity work. He was a regular good guy. We lived in sheltered accommodation and he used to arrange Christmas parties for us all so he’s going to miss out on the Christmas meal this week. He was a very popular man, you have to be when your a club steward. Anybody who you talk to about him thought he was a happy-go-lucky man.”